The Lost Art of Letter Writing

by rebeccaMpells

Letter writing by hand is a lost art.

In an age of digital swiping, likes and emoji’s, putting pen to paper is considered so last century! But I miss it – both the writing and especially the receiving.

There is something visceral about a hand written letter; it requires the will to make the effort to sit and be still for a few minutes or more, to concentrate and compose, unaided by ‘Alexa’ or auto-correction. It’s an ongoing conversation, into which we can ease ourselves, share more of our feelings than we may be willing to risk face to face. It’s the passing of a moment from the sender to the recipient, bearing not only a postmark but the hallmarks of our personality, our quirks and flaws scribed in ink.

During the First and Second World Wars letters were emotional lifelines, the only means of communication between family and friends. They were precious, longed for and savoured, read and re-read, kissed and cried over. The physical nature of the letter was as important as the words it conveyed, a small but tactile presence which was able to transcend the dividing miles, transporting the author into the private domain of the recipient. Letters which were so precious they were often kept for years, the faded handwriting belying the central role they played in so many lives.

In today’s instant society where even greeting cards are sent digitally is there still a place for a hand written letter ? We are once again embracing the audible richness and variety of vinyl and the depth and perception of photographic film both of which transcend the sterile perfection of digital. I would love to think that for personal messages at least letter writing can enjoy a similar revival.

35 Comments to “The Lost Art of Letter Writing”

I don’t miss handwritten letters like some people do, but it’s always lovely to get one. I sometimes send handwritten notes to let someone know I’m thinking of them, and I always send a handwritten thank you note. I think a text or email just doesn’t convey the same gratitude.

Thanks for your thoughts Carrie. I recall being made to sit and write thank you notes as a child, which I didn’t enjoy so much but as I got older I appreciated it was a good habit to encourage and I try to make the effort now. It’s all too common and easy to simply send a text!

It’s a sad loss, I agree. Over the years when we were in Africa I wrote dozens of letters by hand. These days that same hand seems to baulk at picking up a pen. I feel resistant to writing and would rather type. Also I’ve lost my two major correspondents – elderly aunts who were both star letter writers. But it has been going through my mind lately to re-train myself to using a fountain pen. I’m thinking it would be rather therapeutic and good for one’s thought processes to have them working in synchrony with some elegant handwriting. This is a lovely post Rebecca, both thoughts and art work.

Thanks Trish, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. To be honest I didn’t think anyone would be interested so it’s lovely to received some feedback. The thrill of receiving a letter through the post from someone you hold dear is wonderful – especially so if there is a geographical distance between you. All my older letter writing relatives are now gone and I don’t think it would even occur to the younger ones. I recognise your resistance – it almost feels unnatural to hold a pen these days, so ubiquitous is the keyboard. Good luck with your re-training !

A beautiful painting and I agree with you about the lost art of writing letters. That’s why I make a point to send always real greeting cards, most of them even handmade to encourage others to do the same. Sadly it doesn’t really work out…

How wonderful! They are so precious arn’t they? When clearing my elderly aunt’s house I found letters from my grandfather who I never met as he died during the Second World War. I was hesitant to read them as it felt an intrusion on something so very personal and private but it was irresistible. I’m glad I did because holding in my hands the very paper on which he’d penned his thoughts was a moment of connection with him.

I miss it greatly, and I think the loss of letter writing comes at a cost for our society.

Back in the 60s and 70s, it was still in practice. I have kept all my letters and some cards – hundreds of them – in a file to this day. Sometimes I go through them to reminisce. I can see their handwriting – mostly in cursive – and can relive the feeling expressed in that moment of time. The value of that is priceless, in my opinion.

It certainly is a personal loss for ourselves and for family history. But also for social history – it will not be nearly so exciting to research through digital files as old dusty archives! I read recently that some children struggle to hold a pen and learn how to write and that this has a knock on effect for other motor skills. I can’t recall the exact details now but certainly a little worrying.

Yes I too have kept a select few letters, from childhood friends and family to love letters, including all the trials and tribulations. I intend to read through them one day when i can no longer get out so much ! I sometimes think I should print out some personal emails but somehow they would not convey the same tactile memory.

Exactly. Seeing the handwriting is so much more personal and conveys so much more meaning. The pressure of the pen-point, the smoothness of the stroke, the gaps between words and sentences, the grammatical errors and corrections… all these subtle things and more help relate the person’s emotions and state of mind. In comparison, typed text is far less expressive.

My friends and I continue to write letters, sharing our thoughts and feelings, and the subjective view of life. It doesn’t matter to us that the vehicle carrying those thoughts is an email. Especially since those words are still represented by those same letters, symbols of the same language… sometimes the letter is written directly into the digital mail program, and sometimes sent as an attachment after being written in some other program… what counts is the intensely personal nature of the message, coming from our thoughts, coming from our heads and hearts. Most of my life, I wrote with fountain pen and paper, and the letters on the page were very personal, written in my individual handwriting. Even so, despite the nostalgic memory from time to time of inscribing the very letters… what was most important stayed. Those paintings are beautiful.

Many thanks for your thoughts and experiences Shimon and happy you like my painting.
It is wondeful that you continue to share your views and feelings with friends whatever the medium. That in the end is the most important.
Perhaps my liking for a handwritten note or letter is a mere indulgence or nostalgia? But it feels more than that. As Robert commented above handwritting contains ‘all the subtleties which help relate a person’s emotions and state of mind’ – and for me the physical nature of the letter is something tangible to be cherished.
Ultimatley though, the important thing is to maintain connections and communication in whichever way we choose.

Hello Rebecca, I used to be an avid letter writer in my young days (before the internet and social media). The last time I received a hand written letter was about 5 years ago, but I still get hand written birthday and Christmas cards. It also strikes me as very strange that in this digital age that students and pupils still have to hand write their examinations

Hi Emma. Ah those pre internet days – what did we do with our time?! Writing letter was one and I definitely would not wish to handwrite all my business letters now.
Maybe the schools and colleges are concerned that students would be looking answers up on the internet ….. I believe that they may also be marked on spelling and punctuation without the aid of auto-correct 😏
I like to send a handwritten note to the collector when I sell a painting. It just seems more personal.

I can’t remember that last handwritten letter I received or sent. Notecards seem to be the longest, an update scribbled in the white space of a Christmas card. At least I still send them, no preprinted photo cards for me!

Hi Eliza. Notecards and postcards are all I have managed too thus far. I need to take heed of my own thoughts! I have recently received a wedding invitaion from my goddaughter, all printed and RSVP’s are to be sent online!

Have you read any of Nick Bangkok’s books? I think they would appeal to you. Check him out! He creates hand written postcards sent back and forth btw. 2 lovers…wirhin the boom you can pill each postcard out and look at it. Lovely!

Oh, so true, Rebecca. And I hope for a revival too. I miss receiving letters and post cards that were commonplace only less than ten years ago. I so cherish the letters and cards from my late father, which I have saved. I have sent cards in the recent years, but hardly received any, apart from my son and his wife. They still send me cards despite being of the ‘internet/emoji generation’, which I love! I also enjoyed your beautiful painting.

Yes, some of my most cherished items are personal letters. There are others which are in email form but how I wish they were physical letters, the next best thing to being in the presence of the writer, though I’m with you on emoji conversations! Glad my post resonated with you and thank you for the compliment about the painting. 😊